(Quantity)squared - Davis

(quantity)² is an entertaining comic drawn by Katherine Harnack, and published in the California Aggie during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years.

About:

The name comes from the term used in mathematics to describe when everything inside a set of parentheses is squared. It is also a play on words, where the characters and jokes in the comic are square. Miss Harnack is a self-proclaimed nerd and member of Davis Anime Club. Like any other comic artist for the Aggie, she does appreciate any e-mail from those who enjoy her comic. Her comics, as well as other 'art,' can be found on her deviantART page here. A compilation of her comics is available for sale at the UC Davis Bookstore.

Characters:

Cowlick: The typical UC Davis student, apparently his real name. He is currently in possession of a V-Card.
1Up: A typical video game nerd whose real name is John Hochburg. He too is currently in possession of a V-Card.
Demi: The serious academic archetype character. V-Card status is unknown.
Stoic: A play on words, this character is sheerly unshakable. V-Card status is unknown, and given her unreadable nature, may never be known.
Seamus: An Irish exchange student. To help indicate the accent, Seamus' speech bubbles contain a different font, and the spelling follows European English rules, i.e: honour.
Blake the Freshman: A lost and pathetic-looking freshman. Since UC Davis accepted far more students than it has beds for in 2006, Blake is living in a very crowded dorm.
Lissa: 1Up's older sister. She is a foxy version of him, but with more social skills.
Stan: Lissa's fiancé and a lvl 12 Ranger.
The Nameless Professor: A professor that the gang seems to have regardless of what the course is.
Nudist Uncle Roy: 1Up's uncle who is also a nudist.

Art:

Everything but the speech bubbles are sketched, inked, and grayscaled on paper with Micron pens, Sharpies, and Prismacolor markers. After being scanned into a computer, the speech bubbles are added with an inexpensive program called Comic Life Deluxe.

2007-08 Rejection:

On October 12th, 2007, Harnack received an email from Eddie Lee, the editor of the California Aggie, telling her that (quantity)² would not be published in the newspaper for it's third year (Harnack's senior year at UC Davis). Harnack emailed him back asking for a reason why the comic was rejected; as of yet no response has been given. A copy of her application portfolio can be found here.